Process Developer Menus and Toolbars
In addition to the Eclipse basic menus and toolbars, the following menu items and toolbar buttons are part of Process Developer:
File menu
Navigate menu
Process menu
Items on the Process menu are associated with the process in focus on the Process Editor canvas. For details, see the following topics.
Toolbar buttons
In addition to standard toolbar buttons, the following groups of buttons are specific to BPEL processes:
- •Process Viewing aids: Auto Layout (see details below), Align, Magnify
- •Simulation: Start Simulation, Clear Execution State
- •Process Validation (without saving): Validate Process
Auto Layout Methods
Select a Layout Method as follows:
Method | Explanation |
|---|
Grid (default) | Objects can branch both to the right/left (or top/bottom) but the layout does not optimize for available slack space. A row or column is the maximum width of any object in that row or column. |
Tree | Objects can branch both to the right/left (or top/bottom) and the layout tries to use available slack space. |
Hierarchy | Objects align in an outline with one main trunk and branches extend to the right |
A simple process may not show any difference among the layout methods.
Refactor
Select a resource to rename it, and the files that import the resource or depend on it are also updated. For example, rename a process name and the related B-unit tests and process deployment descriptor references are automatically updated.
When you select Refactor, a Rename Resource dialog opens and you can select Preview to view the changes that will be made.
You can also move a resource. For example, if you move a WSDL, all other WSDL, BPEL, BPRD and PDD's are updated to point at the moved WSDL.
Rename (or move) the following resources:
- •Process name. Note that the rename does not change the .bpel file name. It changes the <process name> element in the BPEL process.
- •WSDL file name
- •Schema file name
- •Schema element or type
- •Target namespace
In the WSDL editor, you can refactor the target namespace. This action triggers a global refactoring of namespaces for all resources that reference the WSDL or XSD. In a WSDL, if you highlight a port type, you can right-mouse click and select Refactor > Rename to update resources that reference this element. Similar behavior exists in the Schema editor for complex types.
Go To Activity (Ctrl + l)
Use the Go to Activity dialog to select any named activity for the BPEL process in focus.
You can select Navigate > Go to Activity to select any named activity for the BPEL process in focus on the Process Editor canvas. Start typing in the Find a BPEL activity text box to filter the activity list to matching names. The enclosing scope and process location for the selected activity are displayed.
Open Operation (Ctrl + Shift + o)
Use the Open Operation dialog to locate an operation within a WSDL.
An operation is the command that is run when a Web service activity executes. A set of related operations is bundled in a port type in a WSDL. BPEL activities such as receive, reply, and invoke include operations.
You can select Navigate > Open Operation and use the Open Operation dialog to locate an operation within a WSDL. Start typing the name of an operation from a workspace WSDL to display a list of auto-completed names. The target namespace of the WSDL is displayed in the dialog. Double-click an operation to open the WSDL and highlight the operation.
Open Port Type (Ctrl + Shift + t p)
Use the Open Port Type dialog to locate a port type within a WSDL.
A port type in WSDL is a set of related operations. BPEL activities such as receive, reply, and invoke include operations.
You can select Navigate > Open Port Type, and use the Open Port Type dialog to locate a port type within a WSDL. Start typing the name of a port type from a workspace WSDL to display a list of auto-completed names. The target namespace of the WSDL is displayed in the dialog. Double-click a port type to open the WSDL and highlight the port type.
Open Web Type (Ctrl + Shift + t w)
You can select Navigate > Open Web Type and use the Open Web Type dialog to locate a WSDL message, schema element, or schema type. Start typing the name of any web type from a workspace WSDL or XSD to display a list of auto-completed names. The target namespace of the WSDL or XSD is displayed in the dialog. Double-click a message, element or type to open the WSDL or XSD and highlight the item.
Optimize Parameters
The Optimize Parameters command makes changes to your process based on the following conditions:
- •The variable is only assigned within a single assign activity and possibly has an initialization expression.
- •The assign immediately precedes the main activity that uses the variable as input (either in a sequence or through a link).
- •The assign qualifies to be converted into an XQuery assignment type: There is only one copy expression, the copy has a from expression, which uses XQuery, and there is no initialization expression for the variable.
The assign qualifies to be converted into an XQuery assignment type if the from clause is: an expression using XPath, a literal, a variable with a property, a variable, optionally with a part or a query.
Changes made
The changes that can be made are as follows:
- •If the variable is an element type, it is changed to a message type, and all copies that set it get a new "part" attribute.
- •If the variable was an element type and had an initialization expression, the initialization expression is moved to become the first "copy" in the assign activity.
- •If the variable is the only thing assigned in the assign statement that sets it, move the entire assign to be in the implicit scope and move all the inbound and outbound links for the assign to the implicit scope (adding to the inbound or outbound links that are already there). Otherwise, move just the copies from the assign to a new assign activity inside the implicit scope.
The actions you can perform are:
- •Move the variable into the implicit scope and rename it (and all of its uses) to "parameters.".
- •Convert copy "from" constructs to use expressions (unless they are from a literal). from variable.part with query="/foo/bar" becomes $parameters.part/foo/bar, from variable with property="ns:foo" becomes abx.getVariableProperty('parameters','ns:foo'), copy from variable.part (query?) to copy from an expression.
Validate Process
Select this command to validate your process using the Eclipse Validation Builder. Process validation automatically occurs when you save your process. However, for large processes, saving may take a long time. You can validate without saving with this command. Note that there is a toolbar button for Validate Process and a shortcut key sequence: Ctrl + Shift + V.
Generate Process Report
You can use the Generate Process Report to create and export a file that summarizes the business participants and activities in a process
To generate the report:
- 1. From the Process menu, select Generate Process Report.
- 2. In the dialog, type in a filename and location where you want your file saved.
Tip: Before generating the report, add documentation to the process Properties view and to the Properties view of any process construct, especially activities. For details, see
Adding Documentation to a Process.
Generate Process Image
Use the Generate Process Image command from the Process menu to create a single JPG image of the process in focus on the canvas. The file is saved to the file system location you select.
Generate Deployment Image
When you save a process, behind the scenes a screen shot of your process is automatically saved. When you deploy the project, Process Console uses this image to display the Detail Graph View of the process. The process you see on the Process Console matches that of the Process Editor canvas.
You can disable automatic saves of a process image and manually generate an image. To enable the Generate Deployment Image option, go to the process' Properties view, select the All tab, and change the Image Generation option to Manual (from Automatic). Then you must select Generate Deployment Image before you deploy if you want an exact layout match on the server.
If you do not generate the image, a default layout of the BPEL process is used that does not necessarily match the exact layout in your canvas.
The purpose of the manual option is to allow for better performance of file saves for large processes. If you experience long file saves, you can set the process' Image Generation property to Manual. Also, you may want to disable automatic image generation for a process that is deployed as non-persistent (no process information is stored when a process terminates). Non-persistent processes are not displayed in the Process Console.
Process Editor Keyboard Shortcuts
The following tables describe how to select and move objects on the Process Editor canvas without using a mouse.
Navigation Keys
- •Navigate to a BPEL file in the Process Editor: CTRL + F6.
- •Navigate to a selected activity with the Go to Activity shortcut: CTRL + L.
Selecting an object
When an activity or container is selected, you can navigate to another object using the following keys.
Key | Action |
|---|
Space | Select |
Left arrow | Navigate to the object on the left |
Right arrow | Navigate to the object on the right |
Up arrow | Navigate to the object above |
Down arrow | Navigate to the object below |
/ or ? | Navigate to the next link |
\ or | | Navigate to the previous link |
Alt + Down arrow | Navigate into a container |
Alt + Up arrow | Navigate out of a container |
Pressing the CTRL key causes the focus, rather than the selection, to move. Pressing the SHIFT key while using one of the navigation keys extends the selection.
Moving an object
When an object is selected, you can move it using the following keys. Note that you can move an object diagonally by selecting two adjacent arrow keys simultaneously.
Key | Action |
|---|
Alt + mouse | Move the selected object one pixel at a time |
Period | Select next handle |
> | Select previous handle |
Left arrow | Drag left |
Right arrow | Drag right |
Up arrow | Drag up |
Down arrow | Drag down |
Enter | Commit the drag operation |
Esc | Abort the drag operation |
Palette Keyboard Actions
Key | Action |
|---|
Left arrow | If focus is on an expanded palette group, such as the Activity group, then collapse it. Otherwise set focus on the group. |
Right arrow | If focus is on a collapsed palette group, then expand it. If the group is expanded, then the focus moves into the group. |
Up arrow | If the focus is inside a group, then it moves to the group title. |
Down arrow | Moves to the next item |
Process Developer Function Keys
The following function keys are available.
Location | Key | Function |
|---|
Debug View | F6 | Step Over |
Debug View | F8 | Resume |